With Tons of Gospel Dynamite”: The Ministry of J.T. Roberts
“Georgia has a great treat coming!” proclaimed the Georgia Reporter in 1947. By that summer camp meeting was already an established tradition in the Church of God–so much so that the churches in Georgia had just purchased property to build a camp ground near Atlanta.
Camp meetings provided opportunities for salvation for the lost, healing for the sick and spiritual renewal for ministers and members. Church of God people looked forward to warm fellowship when they met together with their brothers and sisters whom they may not have seen in some time. These annual gatherings inspired and equipped them for their ministries back home, while also reminding them that they were part of a ministry much greater than just their local congregations.
As camp meeting approached in Georgia, expectations were high and perhaps never higher. Not only were they about to have their first camp meeting on their new property, but it would be under a tent and Jake Roberts would be the featured preacher.
When he arrived at the Georgia camp meeting, John Thomas Roberts (1907-1984), better known as “Jake,” was already a frequently sought after camp-meeting speaker. Born in Georgia, Roberts served as pastor of twelve congregations in Florida and South Carolina, including the respected Tremont Avenue Church in Greenville. His administrative ministry included serving as state overseer of Alabama (1944-1948) and Florida (1948-1952), as national overseer of Church of God Black Ministries (1958-1965), and as a member of the International Executive Council for thirteen years. While overseer he built tabernacles in Alabama and Florida and assisted in the construction of numerous local houses of worship. Toward the end of his ministry, Roberts was state evangelism director in Florida.
Yet Roberts was perhaps best known as a dynamic evangelist. Much of his early ministry was as a tent evangelist, and in 1943 the Church of God appointed him as a national evangelist. Roberts and his evangelistic team traveled the country singing and preaching the gospel. Music, colorful preaching, and patriotic themes filled their large Gospel tent. Robert’s preaching style and messages were unforgettable. According to those that heard him, his preaching was exuberant, demonstrative, humorous, and marked with physical illustrations and vivid language. He ran through the aisles, stood on chairs, and climbed tent poles. Yet, he was always careful to present a message that included the good news of the Cross. Roberts labored to insure people remembered the Gospel message and not just his preaching style.
Announcing his coming in 1947, the Georgia Reporter expressed expectations of Roberts’ ministry during the inaugural camp meeting in Doraville: “While the entire ten days will have the general atmosphere of the camp meeting, we shall really get into this part when Rev. J.T. Roberts, Alabama’s Church of God dynamo and state overseer; crusading, fearless, powerful, experienced camp-meeting, Gospel preacher, opens up on Satan and his forces with tons of gospel dynamite. Georgia has a great treat coming!”
Indeed, Roberts did not disappoint. Those who were there still remember that August camp meeting. His preaching initiated a great tradition of camp-meeting preaching on the Doraville campground, and he even climbed the tent pole while opening “up on Satan and his forces with tons of gospel dynamite.”
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This article was written by Church of God Historian David G. Roebuck, Ph.D., who is director of the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center and assistant professor of the history of Christianity at Lee University. This “Church of God Chronicles” was first published in the June 2009 Church of God Evangel.
